Live action disney

Disney is preparing another live-action Star Wars spinoff as it looks to lure viewers to a new video streaming site. The media giant announced the plans as it reported a record financial year, boosted by box office hits such as the Incredibles 2 and Ant-Man and the Wasp. Executives cited the Star Wars series as an example of the new investments they are making in content as the firm shifts its focus to online streaming. The move follows increased competition from giants such as Netflix. "We're looking at the marketplace, we're seeing disruption and we're reacting to it, hopefully on a timely basis so we can take advantage of the trends," chief executive Robert Iger said. Disney earned record annual results this year, making profits of nearly $12.6bn on $59.4bn in revenue. In the three months to 29 September, Disney earned $14.3bn in revenue, up 12% year-on-year, while profits rose 33% to $2.3bn. Its performance was boosted by the studio division, whose revenues jumped 50% in the … [Read more...] about Disney reports record results as it flags up new Star Wars

People in the Indian subcontinent will, from Friday, have only one way to watch top flight Spanish football: on Facebook. The social network has signed an exclusive deal to show every La Liga game, for the next three seasons, to viewers in India, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal, The Maldives, Sri Lanka and Pakistan. The rights were previously held by Sony Pictures Network. The terms of the new deal have not been disclosed. The last time they were for sale, in 2014, they were bought for $32m, according to Reuters. There are 348m Facebook users in the region, 270m of them are in India. It is the latest move from Facebook, and the tech industry in general, to invest in highly lucrative sports rights for emerging streaming services. The social network already shows Major League Baseball to US audiences at a reported cost of $1m per game. As with the rest of Facebook, the content is free but supported by targeted advertising. Speaking to Reuters, Facebook’s director of global … [Read more...] about Another big sports deal for Facebook

After a glut of lucrative box office juggernauts from its Marvel Cinematic Universe, Disney is looking to break more records with Incredibles 2, the long-awaited return of a quirky animated superhero family. Director Brad Bird (center) – shown with Holly Hunter and Samuel L. Jackson – waited a full 14 years to release the sequel to the wildly popular first Incredibles film — AFP Photo The film – which comes out on Friday, a full 14 years after The Incredibles – looks set to score the highest debut ever for an animated film at the North American box office. Experts are predicting a US$140 million-plus opening weekend for Brad Bird’s sequel to his own hugely popular original, which would surpass the US$135 million debut of its Disney-Pixar stablemate, Finding Dory (2016). "For a very long time, people have been wanting this film," Samuel L. Jackson, who returns as superhero Frozone, told reporters at last week’s glittering … [Read more...] about ’Incredibles 2’ set to break more records for Disney

Production has begun on the sequel to smash hit Maleficent, Disney announced Tuesday, with Elle Fanning and Angelina Jolie reprising their roles as Sleeping Beauty and her conflicted surrogate mother. Production has begun on the sequel to smash hit Maleficent, Disney announced Tuesday, with Elle Fanning and Angelina Jolie reprising their roles as Sleeping Beauty and her conflicted surrogate mother. -AFP Photo The movie is being filmed at Pinewood Studios, near London and in locations around Britain, the world’s largest movie studio said in statement. "It’s bring your mom to work day on the Maleficent2 set," 20-year-old Fanning (Trumbo, The Beguiled) joked in an Instagram post that had been shared a quarter of a million times within an hour. Alongside the message, she posted a picture of her in front of a laughing Jolie, who was in the famous "Maleficent" horns, as well as a pair of sunglasses and a toweling bathrobe. Maleficent, a modern retelling of the life of … [Read more...] about Fanning and Jolie reunite for Disney’s ‘Maleficent II’